This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. There are several tick-borne diseases that have been documented to occur in the north eastern United States. Lyme disease is the most prevalent, but there are also several emerging diseases, including Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis (HGA), Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (HME) and STARI. In 2005 Delaware had the highest incidence rate for Lyme disease in the U.S (CDC 2007). HGA and HME have been reported in humans in Delaware. The goal of this project is to determine where the tick vectors of these diseases are found within the state of Delaware, look at the infection rate for the disease organisms in the ticks and identify hot spots for infection within the state. Risk assessment maps will be generated for these four diseases using data on the distribution of ticks and their infection rates will be combined with data on the density of deer, vegetation and soil characteristics, and the distribution of cases of canine borreliosis and ehrlichiosis.